Welcome to another hangout on air and this week we are discussing teaching our children good manners. Good manners aren’t something that kids are just born with of course. They are something that they need both to be taught, and also see other using, so that they can learn to copy. As we all know, as parents, our kids are born to copy. Good manners start with you, and continue with a few gentle reminders. If you are seen to be polite, and good natured, then your kids are much more likely to adopt this attitude as well.
A lot of our discussion revolves around when is the best time to start teaching good manners. It is highly unlikely that a 6 month old will fully take them on board at this age BUT starting from an early age will help to instill good habits.
The use of words such as “please” and “thank you” right from the start when talking to your child will subconsciously filter through to their vocabulary. Learning by example is also a very good tool so using the ‘magic words’, as parents to each other, will help your young person to learn politeness.
As ever, I am joined by Beckie Whitehouse of Be Confident Coaching in our latest video and she shares her experiences and advice with us. Topics we cover include:
- The first thing we should be doing to teach good manners
- When is the best time to teach table manners
- Setting an example yourselves in front of yours, and other, children
- How to react if your child does not use good manners or is shy about using them
Does your child have good manners? Does he/she remember to use them all the time? Do you have any tales to tell? As ever, please share your stories in the comments below :-)
Helen
Helen is a mum to two, social media consultant, and website editor; and this site is (we think) the only Social Enterprise parenting magazine! Since giving up being a business analyst when juggling travel, work and kids proved too complicated, she founded KiddyCharts so she could be with her kids, and use those grey cells at the same time. KiddyCharts has reach of over 1.1million across social and the site. The blog works with big family brands (including travel) to help promote their services, as well as offering free resources to parents of kids under 10. It gives 51%+ profits to Reverence for Life, who fund a number of important initiatives in Africa, including bringing running water and basic equipment to a school in Tanzania. Helen has worked as a digital marketing consultant (IDM qualified) with various organisations, including Channel Mum, Truprint, Talk to Mums, and Micro Scooters. She loves to be creative in the brand campaigns she works on. Get in touch TODAY!
Diego
Wednesday 11th of May 2016
Teaching a small child good manners can be challenging, but there is nothing more endearing that a polite boy or girl. We started with our little one when he was very, very young as you suggested, and it's clearly paying off. It still makes me smile to hear pardon me every time he burps.